For a country better known for covering up disasters, the access and continuous reporting from the front lines of the earthquake in remote Sichuan province by China's news hounds has impressed more than one outside observer.

'I think we can say right now that Chinese media is reporting the quake with an intensity previously unseen,' said Mr David Bandurski, a researcher at the University of Hong Kong's China Media Project.

The New York Times also ran an article entitled: 'A rescue in China, Uncensored", pointing to signs of 'a brief flirtation with openness' following Monday's earthquake that officials estimate has killed more than 50,000 people.

In contrast to the coverage of this disaster, when the Tangshan earthquake struck in 1976 China's press only gave a short announcement that it had happened and then fell silent.

The official death toll for the Tangshan quake of 240,000 was not announced for three years, leading to widespread speculation that the actual number of people killed was up to three times higher.

Nevertheless, China's journalists are by no means off their leash just because they have been able to report on the Sichuan quake.

China's top propaganda czar, Mr Li Changchun, visited the major state-run media outlets - Xinhua news agency and CCTV - on Friday evening to deliver what appeared to be a stern reminder of the angles the press must take.

'The ideological front line of propaganda must deeply and widely publicise the series of important earthquake disaster relief decisions and measures of the central party committee and the state council,' Xinhua quoted Mr Li as saying.

He went on to urge coverage of 'moving stories' of the army in their rescue efforts and of the work of party committees and governments at different levels.

His comments were made public by Xinhua on Saturday, but state media had in any case already been largely following his guidance, even if they had greater freedom to roam the countryside.

The remarks are indicative of China's continually careful management of the media, according to Mr Bandurski.

'The leadership's more open attitude towards reporting on the disaster so far is a very positive development. But it does not necessarily signal an epic shift in media policy,' he said.

'Party propaganda authorities will continue to be active and vigilant, ensuring that domestic media don't get carried away.' CCTV and newspapers have devoted blanket coverage to Premier Wen Jiabao's four-day visit to the quake-ravaged area, boosting his image throughout the nation.

Propaganda
In a 50-minute news special on Friday evening, CCTV devoted 30 minutes to the rescue efforts of top leaders, including 15 minutes to President Hu Jintao.

But other serious and controversial issues, such as potentially deadly cracks in dams caused by the quake, or shoddily built school buildings that caused the deaths of hundreds of children, have been given short thrift.

Xinhua, for example, put out a story on Wednesday afternoon saying 2,000 soldiers were rushed to a dam near the quake-hit city of Dujiangyan to repair 'very dangerous' cracks.

But the report was unobtainable in the evening in Chinese or in English, suggesting the censors had quickly stepped in and pulled the story.

Similarly, China's press have not done any serious investigative reporting into whether the many dams in the area should have been built in an earthquake zones.

Still, foreign journalists have not reported any major obstacles to their coverage of the disaster, implying the government wants to show a degree of openness after international condemnation of its handling of the Tibet crisis.

Some local television stations, such as Sichuan TV, have also provided much-praised vivid coverage of the disaster, unlike the more sanitised content on CCTV. -- AFP